Small Worlds: A Detective Story
by remthedogsitter
Summary: eventual Kakairu AU Iruka rookie private detective former crime fiction university teacher  sets out on his second mission after a  accidental  debut.his investigation leads him to some sticky discoveries just how deep is he willing to trust a thief?
1. Introduction: Grasping Straws

**Small Worlds: A Detective Story**

**Author**: remthedogsitter

**Summary**: eventual Kakairu AU. Iruka, rookie private detective (former crime fiction university teacher) sets out on his second mission after an embarrassing (accidental) debut. A local national history museum has been robbed that has left the police force baffled. However his investigation leads him to some sticky discoveries, just how deep is he willing to trust a certain thief who claims to know the truth about everything important to him?

**Rating: M **(just in case)

**Disclaimer**: nope, don't own anything (oh how I wish)

**A/N:Should I continue this?**

ooohh get ready for a long story (no I haven't abandoned Shepherd's Dog)/

**Introduction: Grasping Straws**

The tan man growled under his breath, piles and piles of paper surrounded him of various sizes and he wasn't quite sure where to begin. He leaned back against the couch, he was sitting on the floor so he could use the low coffee table that seemed to be his most productive spot in case of work, he hadn't noticed that the sun had gone down some time ago. He closed his eyes for a few moment, tucking away behind his ear the strands of brown hair that escaped from his ponytail until a small hand clutched and tugged at his sleeve.

He looked at the source of the disturbance to see a mess of blonde hair and blue eyes looking back at him. "Dad, its night time already, can we have dinner?" the boy of five and a half yawned and showed a few spaces in his smile.

"What time is it?" the man looked frantic, he hadn't noticed that time already passed so fast that it was already nearing eight o'clock. He stood up, not bothering to fix the papers that were once gather on his lap that were not floating about. "Come on I'll make you some ramen tonight and get you ready for bed."

"Ok." The boy yawned again but had perked up at the sound of ramen and was bouncing off to follow his dad into the kitchen.

After a quick dinner and a quick scrub in the tub Iruka had the small boy in pajamas and a very funny looking monster hat. He helped Naruto crawl into bed "Dad tell me a story."

"What kind of story, kit?" he grinned at the nickname but the boy being so tired gave a half hearted pout.

"Another one about the detective remember? Last night when the bad guy was chasing him he had to choose if he was going to jump from the train or something…"

Iruka sat on the bed near enough that the boy's head that just nuzzled itself into his lap. "Hmm, lets see where was I, oh yes Shinjiru our brave detective was stuck between his enemy Mirai and sure drop into his doom if he jumped the train. Time was running out and he had to save the passengers so confronting Mirai wasn't an option so he decided to jump. Mirai of course thought he was a fool but Shin was quick enough to see a small ledge under the cart that he could hide in and a chain hanging that he could hold on to…" the man continued with his story and slowly the blonde's breathing became slow and even and off to dream land.

Iruka couldn't help but smile. The boy was handful sometimes but sleeping like this he looked like the most innocent thing in the world. He slipped away from the boy's hold on his lap before kneeling down next to the bed to nuzzle the boy's head, smelling clean and fruity. "Goodnight kit, I love you."

The boy murmured something back before turning around and facing his back towards Iruka. Quietly the man snuck away, closing the lap by the bedside and leaving the door just the smallest bit open so a little of the hall light would stream in.

The man went straight to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee, thinking about the detective work ahead both made his tired and excited at the same time. Setting the timer for the coffee maker he walked back to his nest of papers to make some sense of the chaos. At times, he couldn't really believe that he was living his dreams of being a detective, getting lost in his thoughts again.

"_It's going to be alright Iruka." The police woman comforted him as she handed him a cup of warm chocolate, it had been a long night after he was awakened by the police that stormed into his house. Even if they tried their best to hide him he still caught a glimpse of his parents bloodied on the floor, his father in the entrance hall to their home and his mother on the stairs looking as if she were on his way up. He remembered hearing them scream and footsteps running around so he hid under his bed. His door had opened and all he could see were these big black boots walking around his room. "Come out come out wherever you are." The voice was a mocking tone, amused even as he saw tell tale drops of red on the man's pants. "Hmm, I wonder where he could be…" the sound of a door opening "not in the closet…" toys being thrown around "not in the toy box…" the feet stopped in front of the bed "how about…" a pale white hand held onto the covers hanging over his hiding place, threatening to pull it all away and the boy clutched his knees to his chest and shut his eyes, so afraid that he couldn't breathe. _

_There was the sound of footsteps again and doors being banged but he didn't dare open his eyes. The next thing he knew he was being pulled out by strong arms and he thrashed and screamed as well as he could only to realize that it was the police, trying to calm him down."_

That was near twenty years ago and he's wanted to be a detective since if only to help people like him who lost the only world they knew. Of course that dream wasn't anywhere near possible until a year ago. He had been a crime fiction analyst for years at a local university and was a well loved teacher at that, his first trial going on the police force had been rocky, the crime division was corrupt and on the get go he knew that wasn't what he wanted. A year ago was so bittersweet that he wished that the tragedy had never happened.

" '_Fuck…' the young man swore, having no more room to run, he was cornered 'No one was supposed to know sensei… no one' his voice cracked, his grip tightened on the handle of the knife pointed at his teacher. 'I was so sure.'_

'_The only thing I don't get though is, why did you kill him? I thought you were best friends, you were dormates.' The man stared, assessing the boy that was one of his brightest students._

'_You don't get it do you sensei? I LOVED him. I FUCKING LOVED HIM. And what did he do? He threatened me and bullied me and put a knife at my throat… every day every day the death threats.' The young man pulled at his black unkempt hair. 'Fuck and I was so sure I could pull it off…' the boy had lost it somehow, a deranged look in his eye as he looked from the knife to Iruka._

'_Don't make me do this Kiro.' The man tried to calm the boy if only to control the situation until the police would arrive. Well enough he could physically defend himself, the pistol in his back pocket would be a last resort if he couldn't defend himself with his judo. _

_The police arrived a few minutes later, guns aimed at the boy as Iruka shouted to them not to shoot and talked Kiro down until he dropped the knife. Child services took him away, the boy lucky enough to be seventeen at the time, there would still be a chance for him. At first Iruka could hardly believe it when he received the news that one of his students Haru had killed himself via poison, the evidence being suicide was the note and the fact the room was locked. It was a wonder however to Iruka that something sounded off about the whole story, it sounded almost exactly like a story he had discussed in his class some three years ago as an exercise in how did the killer commit the sealed room murder. _

_When he was able to see a copy of the suicide letter however he was sure it wasn't Haru's doing despite being similar to the boy's handwriting, the small differences such as the 'I's and 'g's that caught his attention. Being gifted with an almost flawless memory for details there were small nuances enough to say that Haru did not write the letter. He went to the police first of course and to stop his insistence performed an investigation and after a week came up with nothing. _

_Taking matters into his own hands, the university student conducted his own investigation and lo and behold, Kiro after his sensei had showed him irrefutable evidence that links him to the crime, fled and tried to defend himself at the same time confessing his guilt recorded on the tape recorder that Iruka takes everywhere with him out of habit. _

He became an overnight celebrity after that and though an honorary member of the force he still worked independently. Since then he's dealt with minor robbery cases and a few other petty crimes here and there until only a week ago the local museum asked him for assistance on a robbery case as a second opinion due to the police force's slow progress.

His eyes wandered over the papers that he was now at least able to organize, to the neatly ordered bookshelf filled with detective novel and teaching aids. He scribbled notes down into his notebook and things he should look into later because sometimes a crime like this, of this _perfection _he would like to call it more often than not (at least in the detective novels) had roots in other crimes in the past in one way or another this small crime was connected to a bigger picture.

Carefully he snipped a few more headlines before posting it on his cork board. On wall of his study had been renovated and dedicated to his new life as a detective, the whole wall consisting of corkboard and a sliding white board if need be and smaller hanging compartments filled with colored markers and thumb tacks.

So far, most of the things he gathered were art collection and artifact related, in some way he was taking this case personally. His parents had been archeologists but were retired to being professors and experts for the local museum, the mystery to why they were killed was never known but he could feel it in his gut to the connection it had to how his parent's work place in the museum and the university were ransacked. There were headlines about a rich art collected traveling around to add to his collection, some about up coming exhibits of newly discovered ancient civilizations amongst other things that for now he felt relevant. He would go to the unsolved murders yet or something along those lines because for all he knew, maybe the thief was just after a quick buck yeah?

He frowned at that thought, this case seemingly simple, isn't. The head curator's house was broken into but there was no sign of a forced entry and even the museum guard saw nothing out of the ordinary, two locations robbed so silently in one night. _Look underneath the underneath _as he main character of his favorite detective novel would say. First thing tomorrow, he would visit the crime scene again and hopefully get more answers from the 'victims' of this case.

A/N: ok, plot bunnies attacked me ok (I actually have another story idea here somewhere) Shepherd's dog for now is on standby while I think how to wrap it up. I might also start the other story I have in mind since this story is fairly outlined till the end. Continue or Abandon?


	2. Chapter 1: Fish out of Water

**Small Worlds: A Detective Story**

**Author**: remthedogsitter

**Summary**: eventual Kakairu AU. Iruka, rookie private detective former crime fiction university teacher sets out on his second mission after an embarrassing (accidental) debut. A local national history museum has been robbed that has left the police force baffled. However his investigation leads him to some sticky discoveries, just how deep is he willing to trust a certain thief who claims to know the truth about everything important to him?

**Disclaimer**: nope, don't own anything (oh how I wish)

**A/N: **omg get ready, this is becoming a serious detective story lol

**Chapter 1: Fish out of water**

**A/N: lots of details here ok just giving you the heads up; I'm foregrounding the crime for latter xD**

Iruka checked his messenger bag if he had everything, he already brought Naruto to school that morning with some extra snacks in case he'd have to stay late and his only class for the day was finished. The notebooks were in the bag along with a thermos of coffee, his trusty tape recorded was in his pockets, digital camera tucked into an inner pocket and his preliminary notes on the police report was in a plastic folder in case it rained. His eye twitched when he realized that he was going to be late for his meeting with the head curator at the man's house to inspect the crime scene again. It wasn't beyond the local police force to miss one thing or another.

The house was in the style of all the other houses on the block, if not for the fact that it was significantly bigger length wise. He knocked on the door and a girl answered the door, it was the curator's seven year old daughter Sakura.

"Is your dad home Sakura-chan?" he gave her a smile and was given a bright smile in return.

"Hai Iruka-sensei, won't you come in?" she took her large hand in hers and lead him to the large living room to the right of the hallway. "Ima go get him."

Iruka sits down on the couch and looks around the room checking to see if anything was different since the last time he had been here. The room was large for the purpose of entertaining guests with several couches and armchairs littering the room amongst various statues ranging from antiques to post modern works. There was a new painting on the wall, a reproduction of a Van Gogh piece, the mantle still had the three snow globes from Europe and an antique clock. The bookcase was still full but some of the books were no longer in order as if someone had took a lot of them off the shelf and haphazardly put them back.

Outside the living room at the end of the hall leads to the kitchen, in front of the door leading to the living room was the staircase to the second floor. There was a closet as well next to the staircase. Under the staircase was a door that lead to the laundry room.

The crime scene was in Jiraiya's, the curator's, study upstairs.

The white haired man, gruff and amiable as he was, had been an acquaintance of his parents in the past and had mentored them during their dissertation. He was out of town at an archeology site in the Middle East when the incident occurred.

The two greeted each other, on the way upstairs Iruka noticed another new painting but couldn't tell who the painter was. It was a mix of dark colors and looked as like a pack of wolves running in streaks of color in front of harsh dark lines that was probably the forest.

"Jiraiya-san, is that a new paiting?" he asked politely mentioning to the painting on the wall of the landing.

"A gift from an old friend of mine." The man replied not even pausing in his accent, there were eye bags under his eyes, from the past three days of unrelenting harassment from the press most likely. He was going to leave on a business trip at the end of the week despite the happenings at the museum to meet up with another prominent museum abroad concerning loaning an Egyptian exhibit.

The second floor has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two closets and a study. The first two bedroom on the right and the rest of the rooms on the left. The study was at the very end of the hall. The walls were a beautiful wood finish with more paintings and a carpet from the Middle East covered the whole floor, cushioning the sound of footsteps.

Jiraiya leaves him to himself in the study where the crime occurred and excuses himself to preparing tea and a snack for all of them. The study had three windows overlooking the street below as all the other rooms on the second floor did (except for the closets of course). The right side of the room was lined with a book case behind a study table and on the other side was a display case containing amulets and other artifacts from ancient civilizations, only two items were stolen that night an amulet and a fragment of what was believed to be a part of a large headdress. The lock on the display case was not broken and there were no other fingerprints present on the case other than Jiraiyas.

Iruka walked around the table, maybe there was some other way of accessing the artifacts inside. The inside of the case was lined with a soft material and each item was meticulously labeled in Jiraiya's tiny script, details of where, when and how old the item was. Both items came from the same time period in history but were found almost worlds away from each other, other than that there was no way to find a real connection between the two items.

The detective brought out his camera and started taking pictures of various things around the whole room and he ended with the windows. He checked their locks, normally Jiraiya would leave them open since it would be hard enough to scale to the second floor especially in front of a busy street, they were locked today.

In any case he still had to interview Jiraiya so he made his way downstairs to the kitchen and Sakura sat him down across her. She was busy coloring, a glass of orange juice in front of her next to a plate with a half eaten peanut butter sandwich. Discreetly he turned on his tape recorder as Jiraiya placed a plate of sandwiches on the table and a pitcher of ice tea and glasses for each of them.

"Tell me what happened that day and the night you discovered the artifacts were missing." He brought out a pen and a notebook.

"Well, that night I was in the living room with Sakura helping her do a project when I was called by the museum guard that something was missing from the Ancient Civilizations Exhibit. It was raining that night and the power tended to fluctuate, when me and Sakura arrived at the museum the security system was still rebooting and didn't alarm during the robbery. We called the police of course and they concluded that the robber had come in through the women's restroom which had a window big enough for a man to slip through supported by the mud found on the tiles. We went home and I didn't notice that anything was missing some artifacts as well until the next morning when I visited my study." He drawled on munching on a sandwich with smoked salmon and lettuce.

"Do you regularly keep track of all the artifacts in your personal collection?"

"Not like an obsessive compulsive, I would notice however if something was missing."

"When was the last time you checked on your collection before the incident?"

"The afternoon of the night that the museum called me."

"Were you home that whole day after the robbery?"

"I spent the whole morning running errands after breakfast, bringing Sakura to school and checking in with the museum." He poured them both some ice tea and Iruka took a sip, enjoying the cool feeling from the mint leaves that were crushed into the mix.

The two chatted comfortably after that, catching up on what the two have been doing the past decade since they last saw each other at a museum fund raising event. Iruka's mind however was going on lightning speed trying to put things together, first thing tomorrow morning he would be visiting the museum.

The man was inspecting his tools, the lap on the table adjusted to better scrutinize the small metal things. Carefully he polished the various hooks and needles together with a pocket knife that he kept for luck.

"Dad are you done yet?" a raven haired boy walked into the room not bothering to knock. He found out long ago the best way to get the man's attention was to sit in his lap and keep bugging him until he gave in.

"Mah Sasuke I'm almost done." The man muttered pushing the more dangerous object farther up the table in case the boy decided to get frisky and attack him again like last time, despite the broody nature the boy was an attention whore if he wanted it.

"But that's what you said earlier." He said low, he wasn't one to whine but this was considered the closest thing to it. "You're making me mac and cheese."

The white haired man chuckled, the boy had a weakness for the high calorie pasta with all the cheese he would melt into the sauce. Sasuke only asked for the treat however when he was feeling lonely or wanted to bond with him without directly saying that he wanted to. There was some sort of reverence that the boy attached to cooking mac and cheese with him, even though the only thing he was allowed to do was pick out the shape of the past and grate all the cheese they were going to use.

"Ok ok I'm done." He messed up the boy's hair and received an annoyed grunt.

"You're not gonna leave me alone tonight again are you?"

"I didn't leave you alone, you had Pakkun and everyone else remember?"

"Normal people don't leave their kids with dogs."

"When were you or me normal anyway Sasuke-kun?" the man's grey eye went up in a happy arch as he lead the way to the kitchen.

"You didn't answer my question." The boy pouted, running off to the fridge to get what they needed.

"Yeah I am but not until late." Kakashi said, filling a pot with water and turning on the stove. "I'll be here to tuck you in."

"Hn."

The man smiled again, if he could help it he wouldn't leave the kid but he had a little business to finish. The boy hated it when his nightly ritual was disturbed. "I'll be back before you wake up." He paused for a second. "I promise."

Sasuke began grating the cheese with more enthusiasm than necessary. It entertained the man to no end that the smallest word of affection sent a blush all over the brunette's features.

After a few minutes Kakashi toasted some baguette slices to go with their pasta and he watched Sasuke dig into his small pile of yellow and the strings that connected to the plate with every bite. The cheese sauce was so goey having more than three kinds of cheese in it, just the way the boy liked it.

After letting the six year old boy stuff himself he brought him upstairs for a quick bath and helped him into his pajamas. The boy's room was decorated with glow in the dark stars and planets and paintings of them both, Sasuke was proving to be quite the prodigy.

Kakashi tucked the boy in and kissed him on the forehead.

"Be careful." The boy said simply rolling over and giving his back to him. Sometimes the boy was too smart for his own good.

"Always." Kakashi muttered and turned off the light on his way out.

His demeanor changed immediately, going into his room he changed into an all black outfit complete with a mask that covered half his face and a knitted cap. A backpack contained some extra clothes, a hand gun, a flashlight amongst other things that he might need tonight.

He checked the security system, making sure all he plugs and appliances were unplugged and let the dogs in from the yard before locking that door too before going back to his room and exiting through that window. He was mapping out what he needed to do in his head, he had to make good on his promise to be back before breakfast.

A/N: wow, writing this story is more mentally taxing than I thought but I'm planning to make good on this as a detective story (chapters are longer that I usually write, twice the length and more content heavy). I'll update when I can. Reviews please? (lol first time writing a long detective story and I wanna know if I'm doing ok so far). Shepherd's Dog is ending in a few chapter and expect a romance fic from me next inspired by the album Songs About Jane (kakasasu, kakairu, narusasu/sasunaru)


	3. Chapter 2: Going to the dogs

**Small Worlds: A Detective Story**

**Author**: remthedogsitter

**Summary**: eventual Kakairu AU. Iruka, rookie private detective former crime fiction university teacher sets out on his second mission after an embarrassing (accidental) debut. A local national history museum has been robbed that has left the police force baffled. However his investigation leads him to some sticky discoveries, just how deep is he willing to trust a certain thief who claims to know the truth about everything important to him?

**Disclaimer**: nope, don't own anything (oh how I wish)

**A/N: **cute kids! Don't worry the first part is just the crime scene there's lots of stuff happening after it.

**Chapter 2: Going to the dogs**

Iruka nosed around the museum for a little longer before it opened at 10am that morning. There was still the police line around the area of the crime. According to the initial report, the suspect is believed to have entered and exited from the women's restroom during the storm by virtue of the mud found on the tiles leading to a small window that a person can fit through. The man stepped over the yellow tape and checked the restroom. There were five stalls on the right side, a simple white toilet bowl and roll of tissue on the right, there were three sinks in front of the mirror and a small tissue dispenser in the side.

The display case had been simply opened, everything else aside from the artifact stolen was ignored. The security system experienced a reboot after the first time the electricity fluctuated around 8pm and it was in the process of recovering around fifty other security cameras around the museum. The left wing, the scene of the crime, was the last to recover from the reboot. The guard was in the north wing at the time, as seen in the security footage.

There were the alleged smudges of the mud on the tiles, not foot print shaped but it was smudged. Iruka squatted next to one and collected a sample into a tiny ziplock bag. He approached the small window at the end of the room. The window was on the upper side of the wall giving a view of tall grass and the sky. He brought out his camera and took pictures of the scene, in his head the possibilities of a criminal profile were forming. He had inspected the grass earlier that morning, unfortunately however the gardener had already mowed half the lawn. The weather had been against him as well, it rained the night before and any potential clues are as good as ruined.

By a stroke of inspiration, he put his back against the wall beneath the window, surveying his surroundings. _This is what the thief sees. _He talked to himself in his head, trying to retrace the steps from that night. The artifact stolen was a stone box, compared to the other stolen, this was the oldest by a few hundred years. He looked up to the window, reaching upward, his hand just barely grasped the edge but it was workable. He reached with the other hand as well, taking a deep breath he hoisted himself upwards, inside he was thanking himself for at least keeping in physical shape with trips to the gym. It was a tight fit and he had to adjust his messenger bag to make it through.

He grimaced at the mud smeared on the front of his shirt. He walked around the damn ground again and slipped into the window again. He landed on the floor with a squish from the mud that collected on his shoes, his brow furrowed the mark didn't look exactly right even if he attempted to smudge it.

He took off his shoes and his socks seemed about right, no prints compared to if he was barefoot and no shoe marks that could be potentially a liability if a list of suspects could be formed. Satisfied he began fixing his things.

/``````````\\\\\\\\

Iruka stared at what the corkboard had so far, pictures of the missing artifacts and the high lights of each crime scene. The scene that didn't sit well with him however was the museum. Clearly with the first location, the curator's house, it showed the thief's intelligence, the marks in the museum was just showing off. The timing with the storm, the knowledge of the security system and disarming the museum display the thief practically waltzed out the place. He doubted the man entered through window however, there were other variables to think about like the possibility of the mud merely to throw everyone off track especially if the thief already had knowledge of the storm in the first place. The thief is likely physically strong but slim enough to fit through the window as he had and most likely a little taller too if only to reach the window.

Jiraiya's house however was a wonder. Most likely the artifact was stolen before the one at the museum but the exact time is debatable in the sense that Jiraiya only visited the room in the morning before the robbery and the afternoon after the robbery, that could easily be twenty four hours apart that left a lot of time for a thief to escape.

There had been records of robberies of artifacts or mementos and art pieces over the last few years from neighboring cities but the connection was difficult to establish despite the feeling in his gut. The thief was egotistic he concluded and most likely this wasn't the last robbery. He bit the side of his thumb out of habit, the world of his case was too large right now, the thief needed to make a move soon.

/\\\\\\\\

Naruto was a little flash of yellow that ran around the playground with his friend Kiba, Shikamaru wasn't too enthusiastic about the game so he just sat in the sandbox engrossed in watching a line of ants that were inspecting the terrain of his sand castle. They were playing detective again, as Naruto always suggested because one day he was gonna be just like his dad and catch bad guys (Iruka long list of minor cases range from missing pets to misplaced people who were really just avoiding their parents).

_Being as clumsy as he was Kiba's yell of "Look out!" was of course a second too late and the boy collided with another kid sending them both to the ground in a heap. _

"_Watch where you're going dobe." The raven haired boy growled._

"_I'm no dobe you TEME. My name is Naruto and someday I'm gonna be the world's greatest detective." He held out his arms wide to emphasize his point on the world's greatest."_

"_Hn." The boy huffed. "Whatever. For one you're too loud to be a detective and last I checked detectives were smart."_

"_Why youuu-"_

"_Sasuke come on we're gonna be late." The voice came from a brunette standing next to a car._

"_Coming Tenzou." The boy named Sasuke called back and turned on his heel, effectively ignoring the blonde who was mouthing him off for having bad manners._

That was the first time they met and now it was like déjà vu all over again, except Kiba or Shikamaru wasn't around today. This time however Sasuke didn't look like he had a stick up his ass and Naruto was more preoccupied with something that seemed to be in the sky because he wasn't too interested in getting up from the ground.

"What are you looking at dobe." Sasuke raised an eyebrow, going into a sitting position next to the boy.

"Geez I'm gonna get into so much trouble." The boy was muttering to himself and didn't even get up from where he fell after he collided with him. He just lay there looking at the clouds, arms spread wide and it reminded him of how the boy introduced himself the first time.

Sasuke debated himself whether to ask or just walk away but the boy was acting weird.

"Can you keep a secret teme?" After a few moments the boy seemed to have realized that he was there. Naruto sat up and looked at him hopefully.

The brunette raised an eyebrow again, every single time he had bump into Naruto in the playground it always involved a race or something to prove who was better and it always, always sent him home much dirtier than when left. _what would it hurt _he thought and actually looked forward to pissing Tenzou off more than anything. "Unlike you I know how to shut my mouth." He sneered Naruto picked up the gesture and took it as a yes.

"Ok come on." In a flash Naruto was on his feet, small hand clasped around Sasuke's hand and dragging him to the farther part of the play ground where the other kids weren't really hanging around. "It's over here."

Naruto paused in front of some bushes and got on his knees and crawled into a small opening. Sasuke followed after him, not quite sure where all this was going.

The blonde stopped in a small clearing at the base of a tree, the unkempt foliage had grown freely and made some sort of small cave with a few holes in the low canopy for light to come in. For small kids like them it seemed almost like a secret club house.

"Come here Mochi." Naruto said softly and the bushes rustled before a puppy with a bandage around his right front paw was seen. Limping over the puppy began lapping at Naruto's face, tail wagging a mile a minute before giving Sasuke a kiss too. It looked like a Belgian malanois mix and from the big paws it was sure to grow more in the future.

"So this is what you've been worried about?" the boy tried not to smile when Mochi began nuzzling his face.

"I found him in an alley on my way home from school." He muttered strosking the dogs fur. "He was alone and I saw another dog dead nearby, I couldn't just leave him."

"Hm." Sasuke was rubbing the dog's belly when it rolled over and looked at him with those big brown eyes of his. His dad had six dogs at home but he couldn't imagine taking home this one much less sneaking it past Tenzou. "But he cant stay out here what if it rains a again." He scrunched up his face. "And he needs a bath."

"I wanna take him home but… my dad." Naruto let out an exasperated sigh.

Sasuke rolls his eyes. "If your dad really is a detective you just have to outsmart him if you wanna keep Mochi." The puppy had already deposited himself on Naruto's lap and his tail was rubbing and rubbing Sasuke's arm. "Hn, so much for wanting to be the world's greatest detective."

"I can do it!" the blonde snapped hugging the puppy possessively. "I just you know…" his voice was getting softer. "Need help getting him home."

"Ok." Sasuke shrugged. "I'll help you then but we have to sneak away from Tenzou first."

The two shared a mischievous grin.

/\\\\\\\\\\\

"Naruto I know you've been home for a while now. Who/what are you hiding." Iruka called from the kitchen as he was making dinner, Naruto being abnormally loud was oddly quiet today which could only mean he was up to mischief.

In a few minutes Naruto poked his head into view "Ok you got me." He grinned. "This is my friend Sasuke, can he stay for dinner?" a brunette was dragged into view.

The man gave them both a once over before nodding, he already knew he'd be preparing for more people so he made some extra meat balls for the spaghetti. "Wash your hands first then take a seat then boys."

The boys thought they could exchange glances behind his back they had another thing coming to them, he didn't call himself a detective for nothing.

Dinner consisted mostly of Naruto talking about his day in between mouthfuls of food while Sasuke was politely eating and complimenting the meal. The two seemed relieved when Iruka was bringing out ice cream for dessert but the moment the boys were digging into the hot fudge and vanilla Iruka started with his 'detective voice' "Ok boys where did you hide the dog."

Their expressions would make a really hilarious picture with Sasuke choking on his spoonful of ice cream and Naruto missing the spoon that was supposed to go into his mouth and landed in his shirt instead. "Dad what are you talking about we don't have a dog." He gave a nervous laugh and elbowed his friend.

"Or a puppy whichever you wanna call it." The man shrugged, an amused grin on his face. "For one you two are wearing socks, most likely to stay quiet and you put your shoes in the coat closet near the front door. You both have brownish hairs on your socks and pants from the dog most likely and Sasuke has dogs at his house as well seeing as he has more dog fur on his person. Would you want me to tell you where you're hiding the dog?"

Silence means yes. "He's somewhere upstairs, in Naruto's closet because he gets his pajamas from the dresser and hopefully if said dog keeps quiet I would be none the wiser. To back up my claim there are scratches on the wood floor leading from the door then up the stairs which could have only be made by a dog whose nails aren't trimmed."

"Ok dad you got us." The boy sighed, looking sad. "But Mochi is an orphan…" he put on his best puppy dog eyes look. "He doesn't have parents. Cant we keep him?"

"We'll talk about this later. But bring the dog down it might make a mess in the closet." He turned to Sasuke. "No I'm not angry at you Sasuke but your parents must be worried. Do you know any way we can contact them?"

Naruto slipped away to do as he was told and Sasuke helped Iruka call Tenzou.

"Yes I found Sasuke." Iruka began to massage his temples and holding the phone an arms length away from his ear as the man on the other end seemed to be shouting at the top of his lungs. "No I am not a kidnapper for the last time. He's friends with my son and they took their game a little too far... No it was no trouble… Yes see you in a bit thank you."

Mochi made an appearance and quite the impression as he nuzzled his face into Iruka crotch which made the man turn the brightest shade of red before licking the man's face as if he knew him all his life. The boys were playing with Mochi in the kitchen when Tenzou came knocking at the door.

"I'm Iruka Umino, nice to meet you."

"Tenzou Yamato, I'm Sasuke's babysitter thank you for taking care of him." The man bowed politely in thanks and they shook hands.

The boys grudgingly said good bye and Sasuke thanked Iruka again for his hospitality and goodnight before Tenzou had a death grip on his wrist.

"You probably gave his poor parents a heart attack! The dog could have bit you what if you got rabies or something huh? What were you thinking!." Iruka's temper finally getting ahead of him despite his angry expression it was hard to take him seriously with a puppy held up by Naruto lapping up at his face. The blonde grinned he wondered why his dad wasn't acting like himself.

/\\\\\\\

Kakashi studied the lock carefully, maneuvering his small tools to work it open. He grinned his satisfaction and slipped quietly into the window of the history department of the university. He counts his steps in the dark as he had planned, the display should be right here two more paces in front of him. Bringing out a small pen light, his eyes widen at what he discovers. The glass of the display case was broken, framing the emptiness inside. _Shit. _

A/N: lol I really enjoyed writing about the kids, though they sound a little older yes? (well I have a 5 year old brother and he's smart for his age so I based the kids on him) I'm promising more things happening next chapter (cause writing facts and scenes is getting tired for me too lol). I wont be updating regularly cause the chaps are longer than I'm used to writing.

Feedback is appreciated! :D


	4. Chapter 3: Picture Book Revelations

**Small Worlds: A Detective Story**

**Author**: remthedogsitter

**Summary**: eventual Kakairu AU. Iruka, rookie private detective former crime fiction university teacher sets out on his second mission after an embarrassing (accidental) debut. A local national history museum has been robbed that has left the police force baffled. However his investigation leads him to some sticky discoveries, just how deep is he willing to trust a certain thief who claims to know the truth about everything important to him?

**Disclaimer**: nope, don't own anything (oh how I wish)

**A/N: **this story is eating my insides.

**Chapter 3: Picture book revelations**

The sheets were warm, Naruto had sneaked into his covers in the middle of the night and Iruka was too tired to send him back like the big boy he was. The sudden ringing of a phone jolted him out of his sleep and he landed with a thud on the floor. He groaned his annoyance and checked the time, 5:48am and the sun was barely up. It was a Saturday.

"Umino-san, there was a robbery at the university." The voice of his co-teacher Shizune said.

Iruka felt awake immediately like a bucket of ice water was poured over his head. "When?"

"Just last night, I was called by Tsunade-sama this morning just a few minutes ago."

"Ok give me a few minutes I'll be there."

The man dragged on some pants and a buttoned up a polo shirt while he was brushing his teeth. He scribbled a note on his way downstairs, telling Naruto to behave himself and heat some Eggos for breakfast. _This is going to be a long day _he grumbled to himself, cranky that he didn't get his dose of coffee yet that morning.

He arrived near an hour before the police did. There were signs of a forced entry on the main door to the archives area where the artifact was stolen and on the back door of the building as well where the janitors entered. The display case in the center of the room was smashed with rock from an exhibit near the window, other artifacts were strewn about and it would be difficult to place what was stolen if he wasn't a regular in that department being friends with some of the teachers in that department. He took his routine pictures and didn't disturb the scene as much as possible.

His eyes narrowed however when he shot a passing glance at the window. He opened the window next to it and slipped outside to inspect the odd window from the outside. There were a few faint scratches on the edges where the window met the pane on the bottom. It was likely that a wire was slipped under to the window to manipulate the lock inside. Interesting.

He scribbled a few notes in his notebook before he tilted his head in the direction of the police force that was investigating and their leader tilted his head back in acknowledgement.

/\\\\\

Sasuke was on the balcony looking intently at the white canvas in front of him propped up by his easel, there was a lot of paint on the floor from the boy occasionally dropping a color filled paint brush. Sometimes it was just fun to go out of his way to annoy Tenzou. The man didn't want to take him to the park that day after that earful he got from Kakashi for the last incident.

Tenzou was in the kitchen chopping things, pounds of raw meat and various veggies and even to the point of cake mixes which only earned his efforts a raised eye brow from the boy when he went to the kitchen for some juice, which he might add that Sasuke had him make from scratch with the reason "so you don't waste dawning on an apron" with a snicker.

His dad was out for the day which was odd for his stay home dad who monopolized his education by refusing to feed him to the 'system' which corrupted the natural intelligence of children. He grimaced at the thought especially after meeting Naruto and the hyper boy's friends who didn't seem so different.

"Sasuke." The familiar voice was coming from downstairs but he didn't bother to answer knowing the man would come looking for him anyway.

"Ah, there you are." Kakashi was dressed in his casual clothes and sending him a curious expression. "What do you say we go to our summer house near the coast?"

"Hn." Sasuke huffed, his dad sometimes had the urge to just get out of the city on his elusive search of inspiration. The last trip to the coast ended with him being kidnapped by a horse while his dad in a distracted daze had wandered off on his own horse dreamily into the sunset.

"No its not just a writing trip." The man smiled reading the boy's mind. "Just… business."

The tone gave it away though and Sasuke looked at him who had a sheepish smile on his face. The last time it was a 'business' trip they ended up in the Middle East running away from terrorists.

"I promise you'll just be at the house if you want." He picked up on the boy's mood. "But Tenzou isn't staying for more than a day or two."

"Whatever." He dismissed the conversation and marking it down as a losing battle. A smart man after all knows when he is bested and revenge sounded more appealing that wasting his breath arguing.

"I'll catch up, Tenzou will take you there later. I have some more unfinished business to attend to tonight." Satisfied Kakashi was about to head downstairs but on an after thought he added "Oh, and we might have guests over."

/\\\\\\\

Here he was again, with not a mug of coffee but rather the whole coffee pot and several used mugs on the coffee table next to the open portfolios of gathered information (consisting of pictures, interviews and newspaper clippings). He was pacing the room staring at the corkboard that contained all the significant bits that connects crimes together and an analysis of the kind of unsub he was dealing with.

The newest robbery was odd. His unsub was the careful type yet has the ego to show off his capabilities but the university was a different story. It was sloppy and didn't have the refined taste that the other crime scenes had and on top of that the carelessness didn't look deliberate. The scratches on the window however were similar to what he found in Jiraiya's house it could almost be unmistakable. _Maybe the possibility of another thief?_ He frowned, the artifacts though valuable weren't as valuable as other items they could have stolen the motive was obviously more than material gain.

The realization was slowly hitting him about how everything was making sense. At first he thought the artifacts were unrelated but on closer inspection though they varied in age, divided by hundreds or even thousands of years they were all found in Mexico in relation to a common deity, a feathered serpent. At the moment all he could think about was going to Jiraiya before the man left tonight to confirm what his parents were studying those fifteen years ago. Cult worshipers weren't ruled out yet but there hasn't been a reported case in the past fifty years.

He took a deep breath, a great rush of excitement was overtaking him, he was getting so close and he could feel it in his bones. He downed another mug of coffee before gathering all that he used and deposited it to the sink.

He would visit Jiraiya after his class this afternoon.

/\\\\\\

Thankfully he was able to catch the curator in the kitchen fixing up snacks for the long trip, luggage already stacked near the door. He was showed into the living room and Iruka noted that nothing at least changed since his last visit.

"Your parents studied the deity for their dissertation." Jiraiya nodded, confirming Iruka's suspicions. "Commonly known as Quetzalcoatl and by other names Kukultcan and Gukumatz related with the Mayan civilization, roughly meaning plumed serpent but the deity itself existed before and after that civilization from 400 BCE to 900 CE." The man pulls a book from the shelf in the large living room they were in where Iruka noted once before the order of the books.

The white haired man opened a page of the book that was a replica of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis showing pictures and text of the religion of the Mesoamericas and opens it to the page of the pantheon. "Here is the snake god, lord of the morning star,inventor of the calendar, giver of maize sometimes associated with death and resurrection. The resurrection story saying once he ented the underworld to the layer of bones he gave them life with blood from a wound on his penis."

Iruka mulled the information over in his head since the artifacts stolen aside from the stone box were not whole artifacts but pieces of only speculated items from the religion of the Mesoamericans but either way by taking the money motive out of the equation the cult speculation seemed to fit more and more. He frowned however that it was evident that a crime like this couldn't be just limited to the case that was given to him. Certainly, things had to run deeper?

"May I borrow this Jiraiya-san?" the tan man asked as he carefully flipped through the pages and noting that it wasn't just a replica but a study by one of Jiraiya's acquaintances in the field.

"Go ahead, you can have it if you want because I have another copy upstairs." The man had such a calm demeanor that Iruka felt sleepy in his presence this time around.

They exchange pleasantries before Iruka excuses himself to leave since he still has to pick up Naruto from Kiba's house where the boy was invited to dinner that night to show the dog living family his new best friend.

Jiraiya lived on the more upper class side of town while he and Naruto lived somewhere middle class but in a nice quiet neighborhood alongside Kiba's neighborhood. It was around eight pm and the street lamps were already shining bright. He saw a man walk by walking his dog, two college students animatedly talking and bringing groceries home but on the most part he was alone on his way and the night felt cool.

All of a sudden he felt a gunshot almost hit his foot and his screamed in surprise out of reflex jumping into a nearby bush and crouching down, bringing out the small pistol he hopped when he got it would never have to use. The shot didn't hit him directly but the ricocheted bullet scrapped his leg badly and he was already bleeding. There was another gunshot, it had a silencer on but wherever it hit made a loud enough noise to alert anybody. Slowly it sunk in that whoever was shooting wanted him specifically dead. He felt the adrenaline heightening his senses, he had to come up with a plan. Immediately.

Another gunshot.

The only thing running through his mind was _I have to protect Naruto._

**A/N: how does everyone like it so far? Lol its so taxing to write, remember reviews keep me writing! Oh and on a smaller note I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year so I don't know how often I can update. **

**On a much much smaller note, Epilogue of Shepherd's Dog is done but I'm not sure if I just want to end it xD**


	5. Chapter 4: Captured

**Small Worlds: A Detective Story**

**Author**: remthedogsitter

**Summary**: eventual Kakairu AU. Iruka, rookie private detective former crime fiction university teacher sets out on his second mission after an embarrassing (accidental) debut. A local national history museum has been robbed that has left the police force baffled. However his investigation leads him to some sticky discoveries, just how deep is he willing to trust a certain thief who claims to know the truth about everything important to him?

**Disclaimer**: nope, don't own anything (oh how I wish)

**A/N: **is anyone still reading?

Chapter 4:

Iruka began to rouse from his sleep and almost immediately his face furrowed in a frown. The bed was comfortable yes, but it didn't feel like his bed and it was amazing his son hadn't come bouncing into his bed yet bugging him for breakfast. He felt a headache acing like a woodpecker in his head. He stretched and rubbed the sleep from his eyes when a pain shot through his leg. He gasped and threw the blanket away to reveal his leg bandaged a few inches below the knee and there was one on the side of his face as well. He wasn't in his bedroom.

He could feel his heart ravage in his chest as he tried to calm himself and figure out where he was. He was being shot at last night, he ran the opposite direction away from Naruto and at one point of being on the run he was hit on the head with the butt of a gun and the next thing he knows here's here.

He looked around to see it was a simply furnished room without a window with a cabinet, some drawers, a writing table and a bathroom. He slips his feet onto the floor and tentatively tries resting his weight on them before standing completely. The wound hurt but it was bearable.

There wasn't anything to give away personal touches to the room, something simple and practical. He opened the door and poked his head outside, his room was at the end of a hall, two doors on the right and one on the left and the hallway ended leading to a passage on the left. There was the part of a large barred window at the end of the hall that he could see.

He went back into the room and closed door and went to inspect the bathroom, a new toothbrush in a plastic cup and basic medication behind the mirror. He squirmed, if ever his captor was here he would have no way of defending himself. He wasn't confined to his room, was it a trap?

Slowly, he decided to go outside and check the limits imposed on him by the still unknown captor. The floor had something short of a magic carpet in the main hall that felt pleasant under his bare feet. The two doors on the right side of the hall were other bedroom and the door on the left was locked and most likely the only exit.

The living room was truly something, on the right it was a window that basically occupied the whole wall giving one a view of the ocean from the elevated land the house was built on and one could see the light house isolated on a small island. It was low tide right now and a small land bridge could be seen like a slinking snake towards the tower of white and red. He was on the second floor and even then the window were barred from the outside and a sure drop below.

The left side of the wall was also a bigger than life exhibit being done in the mosaic style Iruka recognized the figures in it from various mythologies of how the world was created and what would come at the end of days. The living room was also simply decorated with the furniture and a book shelf was present in one corner filled with novels whose spines were bent and looking well worn but in good condition.

The eyes on the mural seemed to be staring at him when he sat down on one of the couches to think. A loud click interrupted his thought and he heard a door opening. He stiffened. He was injured and helpless in the state he was in now and his captor could do anything he wishes. After more than five minutes Iruka decided to investigate and saw that the door on the left side of the hall was no longer closed but wide open and smell of food wafted through.

The young man approached slowly, limping slightly on his bad leg and he peered inside the once closed room. It was a large kitchen and hot food was on the table set only for one, a plate and two pots one of rice and the other beef or lamb curry. From where he stood at the entrance there was another door made of metal and locked as well on the left side of the room.

He sat at the table looking dubiously at the food but his stomach was complaining. He turned over the plate to find a note _It's not poison, why would I go through all the trouble of saving you if I could have saved myself the effort and left you there? _Iruka raised an eyebrow, that kind of note wasn't exactly what he was expecting but either way he needed to escape soon. He ate and the food was delicious, the thick sauce coating his tongue and the meat was especially tender.

He took the pen that he found with the paper and scribbled a reply _if you mean me no harm then why am I trapped here? _With food his mind was working better now, the information on the onsub was increasing and it troubled him at just how potentially dangerous the thief could be, a mental disorder sounds like a plausible explanation, that and maybe, just maybe he was involved in a conspiracy and caught in the crossfire. In any case he ate until he was more satiated and sleepy than he should have been, washing the dishes he put the leftovers in the fridge which was also stocked with snacks and other things he could munch on but they were particularly expensive like smoked salmon and organic fruits (from the label).

He settled on a couch in the living room and before he could stop himself, fell asleep.

He woke up in the dark and it took a moment for him to orient himself and remember that he was captured and injured. There were sounds coming from the kitchen and he stiffened, standing up as silently as he could and sticking to the wall, the only source of light was coming from the open kitchen door. He made his way slowly and risked a peak inside the room he wasn't sure if he was shocked or relieved to see a familiar mess of blonde hair.

"Naruto!" he gasped limping his way into the light and the boy was about to tackle him if not for the hand that held his collar back. It was Sasuke as well.

/\\\\\\\

Naruto ended up sleeping over Kiba's house since for some reason they weren't able to reach Iruka and the next day the boy spent his hours at school worrying about his dad. As the two boys walked home that afternoon however, Naruto had passed Kiba's house and waved goodbye before heading for his own house now without a distraction the worry was more acute and tense that it took everything for him to keep himself from running.

"Naruto?" a voice asked from behind him and the boy spun back immediately hoping it was his dad. He didn't hide his disappointment when it was a white haired man who was wearing a scarf big enough to cover half his face. "Come on." He grabbed the boy's hand and began leading him off the road into an alley. The scenario practically screamed kidnapping.

"Hey mister what are you doing!" the blonde squirmed in his grasp.

"Listen we don't have a lot of time okay." The man didn't look at him and continued to drag him through the alley and black car, somewhat familiar was parked at the end. "Your dad was in trouble because of his job and now some people want him dead." He muttered bluntly, blunt always worked with Sasuke but the other boy was beginning to protest so loudly that he had to shut him up with a hand over his mouth. "But he's safe for now. I'm gonna take you to where he is."

"How do I know you aren't the bad guy and taking me hostage?" the boy ground his heels so Kakashi had a more difficult time leading him to the car.

"I have a son and care about him a lot. So I think Iruka would want his son with him too, if I wanted to kidnap you, you wouldn't be conscious right now and I could have just stuffed you in a sack and no one would be none the wiser."

Naruto kept quiet for a second thinking of what he should do and eventually he decided to trust the man. "What about Mochi? Isn't he in danger too! I left him at Kiba's house. What about all our stuff at home?"

Kakashi sighed, kids truly were difficult. "Your house was robbed last night by the enemy but alright, here write a note that will let me take him and sign your name." he gave the child a pen and paper from his pocket and the kid in his messy scrawl did so. "I'll bring him to you later."

"Promise?"

"Yes I promise." The man hushed him into the car and told Tenzou to take him to where Iruka was.

/\\\\\\\

Iruka frowned hearing the story and was weighing in his mind the credibility of this masked stranger and an even deeper mystery would be why Sasuke was here as well. But Naruto recognized Tenzou in the car that brought him hear maybe he was involved as well? He couldn't accept the explanation however of innocent children being used in plans like this and Naruto being returned to him was saying something about his captor. Was he leading him to a false sense of security until he could gain his trust and be to get what he wants? Maybe. There were really no facts until he could meet their captor and make a decision from there, he had a reputation for having a good sense of reading people.

"Sasuke were you taken as well?"

The boy just huffed and finished setting the table since Naruto was too busy fawning over his dad. "I was told its not safe at home anymore." And gave a noncommittal grunt. Seriously though his dad had a weird way of kidnapping to safety and calling them guests and calling all this a vacation was more on the extreme end of what even he deemed normal. His father being a crime fiction writer of course enjoyed a little excitement in life but was he really involving himself in a real crime with what he heard so far? He began to think back to instances where his father could have possibly hinted at him leading a double life and not going out for errands. The signs were there but why has he ignored them all this time? Trust? His dad lied. Lied for so long and it hurt to be kept in the dark.

Since the raven haired boy looked upset Iruka decided to let the issue slip and settled down for dinner with the two. He would have to work out an escape soon.

/\\\\\\\

"Boss they're all safe upstairs." Tenzou said speaking into his cellphone from the car and he looked at the open light on the second floor in the house. "Are you still being followed?"

"Yeah but it doesn't look like they're too suspicious because I live in the area and could just be an acquaintance."

"You wouldn't have been noticed if you didn't go back for the damn dog."

"I'm going to make a few rounds in the opposite direction and double back and head there." Kakashi muttered more quietly, wary of the walls having ears. "I don't know if I can make it tonight without putting everyone in danger."

"Would you want me to head there?"

"No then no one would be defending them."

"…." The other line went dead and when Tenzou tried calling again he was confronted with the sound of static on the other line. _Shit. _This wasn't the first time they pulled a dangerous mission like this or when their cellphones were disconnected for safety but it still worried him. In any case he could have to make a round of the area in a while on his motorcycle and go to the lighthouse for a better bird's eye view.

So began the long night.

A/N: sorry this took forever xD NaNoWriMo is stressful and the next update will take a while as well. Reviews keep me writing this story k? cookies and yaoi plushies to all who review/ed! :D


	6. Chapter 5: Mazes

**Small Worlds: A Detective Story**

**Author**: remthedogsitter

**Summary**: eventual Kakairu AU. Iruka, rookie private detective former crime fiction university teacher sets out on his second mission after an embarrassing (accidental) debut. A local national history museum has been robbed that has left the police force baffled. However his investigation leads him to some sticky discoveries, just how deep is he willing to trust a certain thief who claims to know the truth about everything important to him?

**Disclaimer**: nope, don't own anything (oh how I wish)

**A/N: **is anyone still reading?

**Chapter 5: Mazes**

It happened around 3 in the morning from what Iruka could tell from his internal alarm clock, the boys were sleeping in his room and he was on the floor on a makeshift nest blankets he took from the other room. the boys were sleeping when he heard the sound of muffled barking and something similar to the ping of a microwave. The detective tensed and spared one look at the boys before he stood up and touched the forks in his pocket, a weapon was better than no weapon.

He slipped out of the room and locked it behind him just in case and hoped at the very least the boys would take it as a hint to stay out of sight. A sliver of white light poked out from under the kitchen and as he approached the barking was getting louder.

Somewhere in his mind holding a fork like a knife was laughable but right now his heart was racing, there was certainly someone in the kitchen. He kicked the door open after debating attempting to sneak in, but he gasped at what he discovered. There was a white haired man face down on the floor doorway of the once sealed metal door and Mochi was pacing around him whining and barking.

The man was in a pool of blood from what looked like a gash in his side. Iruka heart was pounding so hard as his mind was quick to assess his situation. If that was a gunshot wound he was by hell sure he wouldn't be able to do more that dress the wound much less retrieve a potential bullet that could be in the man.

Think. He had to think. Fast.

00000

Kakashi's frowned deeper when he heard the static that meant their call was disconnected. He was so careful after all to only buy disposable cellphones in case the line they were using was compromised. He was on the roof of a small grocery store that was roughly three floors high and dressed in full black civilian clothes to look a little less suspicious with a dark blue scarf.

He had already retrieved the puppy who was thankfully quiet in the carrier case he had left in the alley a few blocks away. He had inspected the Umino residence a few hours ago and it was indeed raided, the doors were locked but inside it was ransacked and valuables in the strictest sense weren't taken. All the evidence and newspapers and leads the man had collected were taken and some mementoes from the university and small trinkets that were small artifacts from friends. The thief who had visited didn't discriminate, anything that looked remotely related to the case was taken. He had already been in the Umino household of course on some nondescript day that followed the university incident when Naruto had been at school and the detective out investigating.

Patiently he spied on the now empty Umino house, thankfully he was able to get Naruto out of harm's way but he couldn't shake the possibility that the other unknown party was still lying in wait for the boy to return. Now the question is of course, should he walk into the obvious trap or not?

Mochi could just as easily sent via courier to where his own dogs were staying at a local pet sitter that didn't ask too many questions, so should he really get out there and meet for the second time in over three years the man responsible for all this chaos?

No. he didn't. He wanted to but he didn't. Instead he climbed down the fire escape took another back alley to fetch Mochi before going into his car parked nearby. But as he drove off into the night, the glass of his windshield was shattered, a circular hole had woven something akin to a spider's web through the glass. Looks like his "friends" weren't quite done with him yet.

000

Running. The only thing he remembered was running and hiding. Running through the last three kilometers of forest to safety before he had jumped out of the car that he sent flying off a cliff into the sea. Mochi had been unharmed in the carrier so far even when he had shoved it out the car in the brief moment of desperation.

"Dad?" a voice was calling him back and slowly he opened his eyes.

Sasuke was there at his bedside looking at him expectantly. Was it morning already? He looked to the side towards the window, no it was most likely the afternoon already.

He took a few deep breaths. He was safe, he had run to the safe house and he opened the safety door to where he was keeping Iruka. Iruka? Did the man leave already he wondered and he couldn't shake off the feeling of failure until a stern voice echoed in the background.

"Who are you?"

Kakashi turned his head to see the tan man standing near the door way, it was obvious from his posture that his injured leg was hurting which meant he had only been asleep for a few hours or at most maybe a day or so. Explain. He had a lot to explain.

Sasuke took the cue to drag Naruto out with him with Mochi and closing the door behind them to let the adults talk.

"Hatake Kakashi." His name, well his real name said in the presence of people other than Tenzou and Sauke sounded almost ancient. With the silence that followed the white haired man could feel it pregnant with so many questions that followed.

"Alright then Kakashi, are you hungry? I just changed your bandages earlier but I think you shouldn't move around too much because my stitching skills aren't exactly hospital level." The man sounded calm and Kakashi admittedly wasn't too surprised from what he gathered from the man. He only lost his temper if his guard was down, the rest of the time it could be said that the detective was just a cold and calculating machine.

When Kakashi had been propped up on a pile of pillows and fed a bowl of noodles did Iruka pull a seat up next to him, sit back, cross his legs (bad one on top of the other) and say. "Explain."

"From where?" the white haired man saw this coming but what concerned him more was that Tenzou had failed to make an appearance yet.

"The significance of the Mesoamerica artifacts for one, amongst other things." Iruka was studying him with such a practiced gaze that almost made him want to shrink away into the covers.

"What do you know then Mr. detective?" Kakashi smirked, this was his only advantage after all, the verbal banter.

"Well for one, you also go by the name Heero Namiya, a detective novelist." Iruka's tone had changed as he began listing details. "After I tended to you I looked around the rest of the house and found a whole shelf of Namiya's novels, all signed and it matched the note your left the other day but more than that one of your earlier works, at least ten years ago had that same stunt you pulled off in the museum with the mud and the unique way you pick windows. The fact also there is more than one thief in the game as far as I can tell, and you two aren't friends."

"This little case you're working on Mr. Detective is bigger than you think." Kakashi tried to hide his amusement, this man was as quick as he was rumored to be.

"Ah, maybe a decade or so yes." The man sighed wistfully as if he failed to notice something for such a long time. "I found your secret things too you know, the newspapers the pictures and the hidden cork board as well as…" he pulled out a small black keychain that had three buttons, it was from Kakashi's pocket last night when Iruka had to cut the man out of his clothes to treat the wound. At first he thought it was the remote to the door but it was more than that, the mural in the living room was actually similar to something like a one way window it would hide its secrets until the back was illuminated as activated by the red button. A collage of newspapers and pictures and notes and bold red lines all encircled in the center of a picture of a man that he had seen during his own investigation. The world renowned art collector, Orochimaru. "I saw my picture you know, from when I was a kid. The headline when my parents were murdered. Amongst the others… But who is Orochimaru really? What does he have to gain from all this?"

Kakashi sighed, this man was too smart for his own good. "Orochimaru is a man obsessed. He is the leader of a cult called the Akatsuki and his goal is eternal life by summoning the plumed serpent." Even to his own ears the it sounded absurd but given a crazy man in a place of power such as Orochimaru, he had the license to do whatever he wanted even if that meant the murder of many.

Iruka considered what he had just been told, so the death of his parents and countless other people was the work of one man who was something close to a cultist. One man's obsession killed his parents. He grit his teeth.

"Why me? Why kidnap me and my son in the middle of all this?"

"Because you were already in too deep to begin with." The white haired man glared at him when the other raised his voice."And I'd rather not see the two of you die because you got in that monster's way, Mr. I-wanna-be-detective. You may have the intellectual talent but you sure don't have the survival skill." He eyed the man's injury.

"And I suppose you're any better?" he cut curtly and tried to manage his temper which was already rapidly rising.

"I can shoot to kill. So yes." Kakashi said quietly before moving the pillows around carefully until he was once again lying on his back. Sleep. He needed sleep.

"We're in this together now Kakashi Hatake, the moment you saved me and I saved you, and there's not turning back. Don't you forget that." Iruka said with a finality before leaving the room to let the man sleep.

A/N: ok I know I've been gone for a while but I won NaNo this year yey! Updates will be a little slow k? :D is anyone still reading this?


	7. Chapter 6: Through Hell and Back

**Small Worlds: A Detective Story**

**Author:** remthedogsitter

**Summary**: eventual Kakairu AU. Iruka, rookie private detective former crime fiction university teacher sets out on his second mission after an embarrassing (accidental) debut. A local national history museum has been robbed that has left the police force baffled. However his investigation leads him to some sticky discoveries, just how deep is he willing to trust a certain thief who claims to know the truth about everything important to him?

**Disclaimer:** nope, don't own anything (oh how I wish)

A/N: is anyone still reading?

**Chapter 6: To Hell and Back**

It was night time again when Iruka was left with his thoughts again. After speaking with Kakashi that afternoon the kids ambushed him the moment he left the room to drag him around to play and paint amongst other things that took his mind off the situation. But everything was quiet now, everyone was fed and tucked in and all he had for company was the hot mug of coffee in front of him.

Tenzou still hadn't arrived and though Sasuke for all his broodiness couldn't hide his restlessness. It's been near two days since Kakashi arrived and it was only a matter of time before their enemies found them, they needed to move out soon. He began with a list in his head of an inventory of the house and what was at their disposal. There was a car in the basement where he discovered one of the buttons in Kakashi's keychain activated a hidden door that led to a dark tunnel, most likely an escape route. The pantry was well stocked, the house had a strong security system but he knew enough to be wary of feeling safe. He had prepared a few bags of food clothes and medicine packed into the truck of the car in case they needed a quick escape but the question of this whole mess they were in still hung in the air.

_Shit shit shit shit. Iruka's thoughts were running as he barked orders at the boys as calmly as possible to get some sheets from the closets, the kitchen knives and the first aid kit. Sasuke stood frozen at the kitchen door for a second before Naruto calling his name and shaking him snapped him out of it. Iruka at that moment couldn't be sure if it was because Sasuke knew the man or if it was the sight of blood that disturbed the boy but that could wait till later. _

_He cleared the kitchen floor and boys laid out the sheets on the floor. While they were away Iruka managed to stop the bleeding with a dish rag before he pulled the man on top of the clean sheets. _

"_Kids, take Mochi and stay inside. No matter what you hear, don't come out until I tell you ok?"_

_Naruto nodded solemnly but Sasuke hardly registered, instead he was staring at the white haired man on the floor._

"_He'll be alright Sasuke ok? I promise." Iruka said softly then looking to Naruto. "Be a big boy for me Naruto and take care of Sasuke ok?"_

_He ushered the boys out of the room and looked at the task at hand. Calm. He needed to be calm. _

_First thing he did was cut away the man's shirt to better inspect the wound. There was a large gash in his side that cut all through his torso and thankfully the bullet was wedged all the way at the end of the wound where it was already sticking out. _

_Iruka sterilized everything he was about to use with some gin he found in one of the cupboards next to half a bottle of wine. With hot water from the tap he melted all the salt he found in the kitchen and added cold water to the mix and hope at least this would make a good enough saline solution to clean out the wound. _

_Shit. He took a swig of the gin before pouring some on the new wound then a little of the salt water and realized how large the bullet really was. Slowly he reached down into the wound and pulled it out. The white haired man groaned and twitched a little but otherwise remained still. Shit shit shit. He threaded the needle with dental floss as fast he could, the gash near a few centimetres deep into the man's side as if a beast had took a bite out of him._

_He glanced at the clock on the wall for a moment before he willed and wished to have a steady hand. _

_Thirty minutes or was it an hour? He panted, the pain in his leg pounding now as he viewed his work, not too neat but at least the wound was closed and he disinfected with the solution the whole time. He sterilized the floss in the gin just in case and hoped it wasn't the kind of floss that would cause problems later._

_First he rubbed honey and some ointment cream on the wound before dressing it with some gauze. After some thought he took some duct tape over the gauze vertically to add additional support to the stitches. Once he was satisfied he lay down on the floor, the loose strands of his longs hair sticking to his face with sweat. He sighed, and touching his face he realized, he was crying this whole time. _

He heard a light knock and it was Kakashi at the kitchen door, dressed in his casual clothes, black pants and a dark blue turtle neck and a green scarf that covered half his face. Iruka noted the man's appearance before fetching another mug of coffee as the man limped his way to the table.

Iruka sat down as well and they spent a few moments in silence sipping the hot brew.

"When can we leave?" Kakashi asked, his voice just above a whisper still boomed in the silence of the room.

"Maybe tomorrow if you're up for it." Iruka pressed a hand to the man's forehead, no one dresses that warmly unless something was wrong. "If you don't have an infection."

"I'm sure you know an infection is the least of our worries Iruka."

"Well, I prefer to drag two kids, a dog and a conscious man through hell and back than dragging your sorry corpse around." The detective kept the tone light, he needed a little humor right now, the atmosphere was becoming suffocating.

"These two days being out of the loop, who knows what that bastard is up to." Kakashi brought the issue back to the conversation. "After raiding your collection, I'm sure he's almost finis-"

Iruka gave no comment and instead, his eyes widened as if in a revelation, he mentioned something about getting a few papers from Kakashi's wall of evidence. He remembered something all of a sudden, a detail he over looked. Jiraya mentioned a museum exhibit he was bringing back to the country and then there was the big art auction announced in the news paper. Despite the limp, he scrambled out the door, leaving a very confused Kakashi at the table.

He illuminated the investigation board, looking this way and that before picking out a few newspaper and magazine articles and stuffing them in his pocket until he held up one piece of paper torn out from an old astronomy text book. He looked to the window, the moon was almost full and the lighthouse in the distance sent out a thin stream of light. He held up the paper against the sky, searching for something in the stars.

There was a heavy feeling in his gut however that looking away from the stars he by chance looked to the lighthouse and saw a weird glimmer. He narrowed his eyes, freezing for a moment to just look...

Suddenly there was a crack, a round hole in the thick glass missing his head by an inch.

"Kakashi! GET THE KIDS." Iruka shouted as he scrambled for cover. He heard Mochi's barking from inside the boy's room and the two kids opening the door.

"RUN. GO REMEMBER WHAT I TOLD YOU TO DO!" Iruka's shouting brought the two boys out of their sleepiness and immediately they ran towards the kitchen to where Kakashi was and tugged the man along with them downstairs.

"IRUKA WHAT TH- "

"JUST GO KAKASHI I'LL CATCH UP DOWNSTAIRS START THE CAR!" Iruka looked around him for one more piece of evidence he needed and there in the corner of the bookshelf he saw a copy of the book Jiraya had. From behind the couch he rolled towards the bookshelf and secured the book before rolling back. He waited for a second between the shots before running to the kitchen and down the stairs. As he reached the door of the basement however the shots stopped. _Shit. _

Iruka scrambled for the car and jumped into the driver's seat and Kakashi finished loading the kids and dog into the back seat, the secret door was already open. Before the kids even settled with their seatbelts Iruka cautioned to hold on and floored the gas of the automatic.

One of the reasons for the sniper could be that there was something in the house that Orochimaru wanted but in his mind there were only two possibilities that the sniper stopped shooting for one it could be the bullets but from the volley he could tell the gun was at least an assault rifle hybrid and the second possibility could be that the man was pulling out heavier artillery to bring them down. At that moment he heard an explosion behind them, illuminating the tunnel and looming ever faster in the rear view mirror.

**A/N: am I back for good this time? Maybe lol I just thought of this story again when I saw reviews in my email hehe so here's another chapter, I'm still thinking of the next one. Don't worry I haven't abandoned this story updates might just be really slow and far apart :D **


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